Reuther is worthy of the best--" he stopped abruptly. "Reuther is
a girl after my own heart," he gently supplemented, with a glance
towards his papers lying in a bundle at his elbow, "and she shall
not suffer because of this disappointment to her girlish hopes.
Tell her so with my love."
It was a plain dismissal. Mrs. Scoville took it as such, and
quietly left the room. As she did so she was approached by Reuther
who handed her a letter which had just been delivered. It was from
Mr. Black and read thus:
We have found the rogue and have succeeded in inducing him to
leave town. He's a man in the bill-sticking business and he owns
to a grievance against the person we know.
Deborah's sleep that night was without dreams.
XXI
IN THE COURT ROOM
About this time, the restless pacing of the judge in his study at
nights became more frequent and lasted longer. In vain Reuther
played her most cheerful airs and sang her sweetest songs, the
monotonous tramp kept up with a regularity nothing could break.
"He's worried by the big case now being tried before him," Deborah
would say, when Reuther's eyes grew wide and misty in her
sympathetic trouble. And there was no improbability in the plea,
for it was a case of much moment, and of great local interest. A
man was on trial for his life and the circumstances of the case
were such that the feeling called forth was unusually bitter; so
much so, indeed, that every word uttered by the counsel and every
decision made by the judge were discussed from one end of the
county to the other, and in Shelby, if nowhere else, took
precedence of all other topics, though it was a Presidential year
and party sympathies ran high.
Pages:
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187